My Light
by piscesclio
Summary: read it to find out.......


Hermione stared out the car window, gloomily watching the rain splatter across the glass. They were only four blocks from the train station now. The knot in the pit of Hermione's stomach only tightened.

"**Are you sure you want to do this?" Her mother asked, her voice full of worry. Hermione just nodded and continued looking out the window.**

**They had already been through this. It was her final year at Hogwarts. She had been chosen as Head Girl. Plus, the safest place for her to be was behind Hogwarts' protected walls. It wasn't like she could just not go back. But Hermione understood her mother's concern. What would people think? How would they react when they discovered her little secret?**

**The knot grew even tighter. What would her friends think of her? Would they hate her? She couldn't blame them if they did. Hermione couldn't really forgive herself for it either.**

**As the car pulled to a stop she grimaced. They had parked near a sleek black limousine, a Malfoy limousine. Hermione caught a glimpse of blonde hair exiting the car and averted her eyes. The last person she wanted to encounter was him.**

**Keeping her eyes focused on the ground Hermione pushed her trunk through to platform 9 ¾. She had only been on the platform for a few seconds when she was hit from behind.**

"**Watch it, Mudblood!"**

**Hermione whirled around to find Crabbe and Goyle behind her. She glared at them but moved out of their way. The last thing she wanted to do was cause a scene. However, the two boys weren't about to make that very easy.**

**Goyle nudged his friend and boasted loudly. "How 'bout that Crabbe? The Mudblood finally found her place." **

Blood crept up Hermione's cheeks in both anger and embarrassment but she wasn't going to say anything. The more unnoticed she went the more likely survival would be accomplished. Instead she turned her eyes back toward the ground and started to move toward the train.

Hermione searched up and down the train for Ron and Harry but she couldn't find them anywhere. After ten minutes she settled for an empty compartment in the back of the train. Hopefully her friends would find her. In the mean time she was exhausted. Hermione curled up in the seat and by time her head hit the bench the dark abyss of her subconscious had already enveloped her.

Draco shook his head vigorously, desperate to rid it of thoughts of her. He couldn't stop thinking of her. All summer she had plagued all his thoughts and haunted all his dreams. He hit his head against the back of his seat in frustration. He was a Malfoy. Malfoys were not supposed to be effected by women like this, especially a woman like her. It had been five weeks since he had last seen her. What did it take to make him forget her?

Stepping out of the car, Draco tried once again to put the thoughts aside and focus on something, anything else. He grabbed his trunk and started walking toward the station. Maybe Crabbe and Goyle would offer a sufficient distraction. Maybe. It's not like they were good for much else.

Right as Draco stepped onto the platform he spotted his "friends." They had just bumped into a girl and started yelling at her. From what Draco could tell from the way the girl had been huddled in on herself and staring at her shoes he wouldn't have expected her to whip around, ready to give both boys a piece of her mind.

Draco was surprised to see that the girl was Hermione Granger. He let out a small laugh. Perfect. It would be very amusing to watch her rip into the two morons.

To his surprise she didn't to anything of the sort. Instead she moved out of their way. And even after they got another dig in on her she didn't respond, at least not the way she was supposed to. Draco watched as Hermione moved toward the train, still looking at her feet.

It baffled him completely. Had the oh-so-proud Hermione finally been brought down to size? In all the times he had insulted her, even brought her to the point of tears, Draco had never seen her look so beaten down.

Before he even knew what he was doing, Draco found himself on the train, searching for someone he was supposed to hate. It took him a quarter of an hour and checking every compartment for him to finally find her, but find her he did. She was sleeping curled up on a seat on one side of the compartment. Draco quietly slid into the small area and sat opposite Hermione. Surprising himself by being content with just watching her as she slept.


End file.
